Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, has announced that in July of the current year the unemployment rate in the European Union member states (EU-28) was 9.5 percent, decreasing slightly compared to June but down from 10.2 percent in the same month last year. The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the euro area was 10.9 percent in July, decreasing significantly compared to the previous month and decreasing from 11.6 percent in July 2014.
In July this year, the unemployment rate in the EU-28 fell in 23 states, increased in three states and remained stable in two states, all on year-on-year basis. Among the EU-28 member states, in July the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Germany (4.7%) and the Czech Republic and Malta (5.1%), and the highest rates in Greece (25.0% in May 2015) and in Spain (22.2%).
Meanwhile, in July this year the unemployment rate in the United States was 5.3 percent, remaining stable compared to the previous month and declining from 6.2 percent in July 2014.